Flower arranging device



June 3, 1969 J. UHL 3,447,262

FLOWER ARRANGING DEVICE Filed June 6, 1968 INVENTOR.

United States Patent Office 3,447,262 Patented June 3, 1969 Int. Cl. A01g 5/00 US. Cl. 47-4111 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for facilitating the arrangement of cut flowers or the like comprising a container having an open end and an arranging member that is adapted to be conveniently aflixed to the container adjacent its open end. The arranging member is formed as an integral piece having an annular rim that is positioned at the upper extremity of the mouth of the associated container, a depending flange portion integrally connected to the outer extremity of the rim portion and adapted to be juxtaposed to the outer periphery of the upper end of the associated container and an interlocking flange portion integrally connected to the depending flange portion and adapted to underlie a shoulder of the associated container for fixing the arranging member relative to the container. The arranging member further includes a plurality of supporting members that extend across the rim portion and which define a plurality of spaced gaps to pass the stems of the flowers or the like and for supporting the flowers in their arranged position.

Background of the invention This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application of the same title, Ser. No. 678,941, filed Oct. 30, 1967.

This invention relates to a container assembly and more particularly to a container assembly for facilitating the arrangement of cut flowers or the like.

In the floral trade, arrangers are called upon to form floral displays through the decorative arrangement of cut flowers or the like. In order to hold the cut flowers in their arranged position, it has heretofore been the practice to fill a container with a screen like material such as chicken wire. This material is awkward to work with since it must be relatively still? to support larger flowers. In addition to cutting this material to size, the container must be packed with this :material. Both of these operations present some injury hazard due to the sharp edges of the exposed wire. Often times filling the container with this wire material results in wasteage since complete filling of the container with the wire may not be necessary to support the flowers. In addition to this cost disadvantage, the labor costs for filling these containers may be quite due to the highly skilled nature of the arranger. Although it has been proposed to fill the containers with some form of reticulated material, such as a foamed plastic or the like, these materials are either too rigid so as to cause damage to the stems of the flowers upon insertion or are not sufliciently strong to support the flowers.

Arranging devices have been proposed to replace the chicken wire or reticulated material. Such devices extend across the opening of the associated container and themselves have a plurality of relatively small openings to assist in supporting the stems of the flowers. The arranging devices heretofore proposed, however, have several defects that have severely limited their commercial potential. In order to have maximum utility, the arranging devices should be a separate element from the container but should be adaptable for use with a wide variety of containers within a given size range. In order to achieve this result, certain of the previously proposed arrangmg devices afforded no form of positive interlock between the arranging device and the container. Thus, in the event the floral display was tipped over during delivery, the unit would separate. Alternatively, it has been proposed to provide some form of positive interlock between the arranging device and the associated container. The interinterlocks heretofore proposed have been diflicult to assemble and have required specially formed containers to coact with the arranging device in achieving the interlock.

It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved container assembly for facilitating the arrangement of cut flowers or the like.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved arranging device that may be readily adapted to a flower pot or other container to facilitate floral arrangement.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an arranging device having an improved structure for achieving a relatively positive interlock with the associated container to prevent accidental disassembly.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide an arranging device of the aforenoted type that lends itself to mass, low cost production.

Summary of the invention An arranging member embodying this invention is particularly adapted for use with an open mouth container for facilitating the arrangement of cut flowers or the like therein. The arranging member comprises a rim portion having a generally annular configuration and which is adapted to be positioned at the upper extremity of the mouth of the associated container. A depending flange portion is integrally connected to the outer extremity of the rim portion and is adapted to be juxtaposed to the outer periphery of the upper end of the associated container. An interlock flange portion is integrally connected to the depending flange portion and extends inwardly therefrom at a point spaced from the rim portion for underlying a shoulder of the associated container to retain the arranging member relative to the container. A plurality of supporting members extend across the rim portion and intersect each other for defining a number of spaced gaps adapted to pass the stems of flowers or the like for arrangement thereof in the associated container and for supporting the flowers in their arranged positions.

Brief descripti n of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a flower arranging device embodying this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a partial enlarged top plan view taken in the general direction of the arrow 2 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIGURE 1.

Detailed descripti n of the preferred embodiment Referring now in detail to the drawings, a flower arranging device embodying this invention is comprised of a container, indicated generally by the reference numeral 11, and an arranging member, indicated generally by the reference numeral 12. As will become more apparent as this description proceeds, the arranging member 12 or similar arranging members may be used with a wide variety of containers. In the depicted embodiment, the container 11 is a vase or jardiniere and is formed from a ceramic material. The container 11 may, however, have other configurations than that shown and may be formed with such other diverse materials as pottery, plastics or the like. The container 11 has a base 13 for supporting the container and defines an internal cavity open at its upper end to receive the stems of cut flowers or the like. A downwardly facing generally annular shoulder 14 is formed around the open upper end of the container 11 by a bead 15.

The arranging member 12 is formed as an integral molded element from a plastic, such as polypropylene, or other material which is relatively rigid but which has a limited amount of resiliency, for a reason will become more apparent as this description proceeds. The arranging member 12 has an annular rim portion 16 that is adapted to engage the upper extremity of the container 11 and from which a plurality of intersecting supporting members 17 and 18 extend. The supporting members 17 and 18 and rim portion 16 define a plurality of openings 19 that are adapted to pass the stems of cut flowers or the like as shown in phantom in FIGURE 1.

An annular flange 21 depends integrally from the outer extremity of the rim portion and is fixed so as to snugly engage the outer extremity of the bead 15. An interlocking flange portion 22 extends radially inwardly from the depending flange portion 21 and is adapted to underlie the shoulder 14 of the container 11.

The arranging member 12 maybe conveniently aflixed to the container 11 by placing it in registry with the open mouth and exerting a downward pressure upon it. The engagement of the flange portion 22 with the upper end of the container 11 and particularly with the head 15 will cause the interlocking flange portion 22 to deflect slightly and will cause the depending flange portion 21 to deflect so that the arranging member 12 may be inserted onto the container 11. If desired, the lower surface of the interengaging flange portion 22 may be formed with a beveled surface 23 so as to facilitate this installation. When the interengaging flange portion 22 reaches the shoulder 14, the resilience of the member 12 will cause the flange 22 to snap in place beneath the shoulder 14 so that the arranging member is afl'ixed to the container 11 in a relatively permanent manner. That is, considerable force will be required to remove the arranging member 12 from the container 11 unless the arranging member is pryed off of the container 11.

When the arranging member 12 is in place, the cut flowers may be inserted into the openings 19 in an artistic manner to achieve the floral display. The supporting members 17 and 18 have suflicient rigidity to hold the flowers in their arranged position. Should the arrangement fall over in transit, the arranging member 12 will be retained in position and the floral arrangement will be preserved.

It should be understood that the shape of the container 11 depicted is purely by way of example. An arranging member as disclosed may be used with various other shape containers, but preferably these containers should form a shoulder against which the flange 22 may react. The axial location of the flange 22 along the depending flange portion 21 may also be varied to suit individual containers. Various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claim.

What is claimed is:

1. A floral arranging member for use with an open mouth container for facilitating the arrangement of cut flowers or the like therein comprising a rim portion having a generally annular configuration with inner and outer extremities and adapted to be positioned at the upper extremity of the mouth of the associated container, a depending flange portion integrally connected to the outer extremity of said rim portion and adapted to be juxtaposed to the outer periphery of the upper end of the associated container, an interlocking flange portion integrally connected to said depending flange portion and extending inwardly therefrom at a point spaced from said rim portion, said interlocking flange portion being adapted to underlie and engage a shoulder of the associated container for retaining said arranging member relative to the associated container, said interlocking flange portion being relatively thin and vertically displacable with respect to said depending flange portion for facilitating deformation thereof into engagement with the container shoulder upon attachment of said floral arranging member to the associated container, and a plurality of supporting members integrally connected to said rim portion and extending thereacross from said inner extremity and in substantially coplanar relation with the upper surface of said rim portion and intersecting each other for defining a number of spaced closed gaps adapted to pass the stems of the flowers or the like for arragement thereof in the associated container and for their support by said floral arranging member, said floral arranging member being formed from a material having suflicient resilience for attachement to the associated container for a snap fit.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,900,760 8/1959 Tupper.

2,908,112 10/1959 Koistinen 47-41.11

2,989,205 6/1961 Yaws 220 XR 3,183,624 5/1965 Swett.

3,077,284 2/1963 McLaughlin 220-60 ROBERT E. BAGWILL, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

